Support for flood-affected Wide Bay wildlife and habitat

The Burnett Mary Regional Group will receive $250,000 to help native wildlife and habitat recover from the impacts of recent flooding in Wide Bay, Federal Member for Wide Bay and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Llew O’Brien announced today.

Mr O’Brien said the funding was part of a $3.5 million package from the Liberals and Nationals Government from the Environment Restoration Fund to protect impacted native wildlife and their habitats.

“The devastating floods in Queensland have had an enormous impact on family homes, businesses and organisations in Wide Bay, and they have also had a heartbreaking effect on our precious native wildlife and their habitats,” Mr O’Brien said.

“This damage has come on the back of the Black Summer bushfires in Noosa, the Gympie region and Fraser Island, which has created cumulative impacts for many species.

“This funding will be used by the Burnett Mary Regional Group to support the rapid assessment of damage, immediate remedial works to reduce run-off and support erosion control, mapping of remaining suitable habitat, and it will inform our next steps towards helping native flora and fauna bounce back.”

Funding will also be made available to Natural Resource Management organisations in flood-affected regions, including Healthy Land and Water in Queensland; and North Coast, Hunter, Greater Sydney and South East Local Land Services in New South Wales to undertake this initial work.

Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley said that the funding would support Natural Resource Managers to assess impacts and plan recovery in New South Wales and Queensland.

“We are moving early to working with local organisations to assess the long-term impacts of erosion, pollution and the likely damage to rivers, estuaries and creek systems for wildlife on the East Coast,” Minister Ley said.

“We know from our $200 million bushfire response that getting the right assessments in place early and calling together a range of experts can produce some really positive outcomes.

For more information: https://www.awe.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/conservation/environment-restoration-fund